Creates state guidelines for watershed-approach landscaping

Previously existing law required the Department of Water Resources to develop a model local water efficient landscape ordinance by January 1, 1992, and the Water Conservation in Landscaping Act, which is part of the Planning and Zoning Law, requires the department to update the model ordinance, as provided. The act provides that, if a local agency did not adopt a water efficient landscape ordinance or specified findings that an ordinance is not necessary by January 1, 1993, that model ordinance applies within the jurisdiction of the local agency, except in the case of a chartered city.

This bill would require the Department of Water Resources, by January 1, 2019, to establish guidelines for designing, installing, and rehabilitating landscapes of any size consistent with the watershed approach to landscaping, as provided. The bill would require, within 6 months of adoption of the guidelines, the Department of Water Resources and any other state agency with a grant or loan program that provides funding for water-conserving or water-efficient landscapes, (1) for programs funded by general obligation bonds, to revise funding guidelines to provide a preference for projects that comply with the adopted guidelines; (2) for programs funded by sources other than general obligation bonds, to revise funding guidelines to require projects to comply with the adopted guidelines; and (3) for programs funded by any source, to give, to the extent feasible, additional funding preference for a project that implements the watershed approach to landscaping whose project application includes the use of services of specified entities. The bill would also require the Department of Water Resources to promote the watershed approach to landscaping by providing education and training for homeowners, contractors, certified community conservation corps, and other landscape professionals who plan, develop, or implement landscaping projects.

This bill would authorize the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery to promote the application of compost in urban areas of the state to assist with projects that follow the watershed approach to landscaping and, in coordination with the Department of Water Resources, to develop and implement pilot projects that support the understanding and deployment of compost to meet specified goals. The bill would also require the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, in coordination with the State Air Resources Board, to develop a greenhouse gas emissions reduction factor for new climate appropriate landscapes, as provided.